The
World Boardgaming Championships (WBC)
takes place at theLancaster
Host Resort in Lancaster, Pa., every year during
the first week of August. WBC
is truly national—even international—in
scope, with most of the union’s
50 states represented, in addition
to gamers from Canada and farther
afoot. Most of all, it
is truly a gamer’s convention—run
for boardgamers by boardgamers—with
no middleman involvement.

Something
that makes WBC stand out is
its tournaments. Long
an afterthought elsewhere, tournaments
are king at WBC. No convention
has ever done them better than
WBC. Whether applauding
the victors or previewing
the upcoming events or scheduling
your week in advance, no
one does it better. Part of the
reason is our volunteer Game
Masters, who tend to be among
the most dedicated in the hobby. Years
of experience and feedback from
our players have helped them
improve, and they all vie for
the honor of GM
of the Year. In short,
these people as a group care
about their events and making
your gaming experience an enjoyable
one.

Our
featured tournaments are Century
Events—about 100 of them from various publishers—chosen
from among the events with the
highest attendance during the
previous year’s convention. Other
tournaments are termed Trials.
These include the 25 events receiving
the most votes from our members,
and additional tournaments sponsored
by members or companies. In both
categories are events at the
Beginner, Intermediate, and Experienced
levels. Plus, there are numerous
demos to help players with any
level of experience get up-to-speed.
We also offer a full
schedule for Juniors—those
12 and under—to cultivate the next generation of gamers.
Participation in the Juniors
program is FREE, when a Junior
is accompanied by a paying adult.
Finally, for those who don’t
enjoy competition or organized
events, Open Gaming opportunities
abound. Regardless, we place
a high value on Sportsmanship.

Something
we suspect you’ll appreciate
about WBC is that you’ll
only pay one, inclusive admission.
There are no separate
event tickets to buy, depending
on whether or not you attend
the auction or seminars or how
many tournaments or other games
you play, demos you attend, or
Vendors you patronize. Want to stop in just
long enough to visit the vendor’s
area or get a quick peak at the
events? Be our guest. There is
no charge for such visits and
your non-playing spouse or children
are welcome spectators as well.

Another
thing that makes us stand out
is
that every
WBC attendee is a member of the Boardgame
Players Association (BPA). As
such, when you attend, you become
a part owner with voting rights
about how the organization is
run, including who serves on
our unpaid Board
of Directors and which games
will be run as Trials at the
convention. Remember, though,
membership in BPA means more
than just entrance to
WBC. It also provides discounts
at our mini-conventions and play-by-e-mail
tournaments throughout the year
and delivers a full-color Yearbook
and Schedule to you months before
WBC takes place.

Take
an opportunity to explore this
web site. It offers an abundance
of gaming resources. If you have
questions about the convention,
contact the convention director
Don Greenwood or the assistant
director Kaarin
Engelmann. We
look forward to introducing you
to one of the best weeks of gaming
you’ll experience!